Office of the State Veterinarian, Kruger National Park, P.O. Box 12, Skukuza, 1350, South Africa

Published online: 01 June 2000

Abstract

VP1 gene sequences of SAT-2 type foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) viruses recovered from
impala and African buffalo in the Kruger National Park (KNP) were used to determine intra-
and interspecies relationships of viruses circulating in these wildlife populations. On this basis
five distinct lineages of SAT-2 virus were identified in routine sampling of oesophageo-pharyngeal epithelium from buffalo between 1988 and 1996. Different lineages were associated
with discrete geographic sampling localities. Over the period 1985–95, four unrelated epizootics
occurred in impala in defined localities within the KNP. Evidence for natural transmission of
FMD between buffalo and impala is presented for the most recent 1995 outbreak, with data
linking the 1985 and 1988/9 impala epizootics to viruses associated with specific buffalo herds.